History of HoW

After hosting the 2nd NZ Rogaining Championships, Easter 1997, in the Craigieburn area, Peninsula and Plains Orienteers (PAPO) was encouraged by Michael Wood (NZOF) to bid for the 4th World Rogaining Championships to be held in 2000. The bid was successful, and a planning committee was formed. Stuart Payne, then secretary of PAPO, learned that a fellow member of the Peninsula Tramping Club, Barry Kershaw, was a past vice-president of the Western Australia Rogaining Association. Barry offered to be an advisor to the world champs planning committee and one of his suggestions was that PAPO should increase its rogaine organising experience by holding two lead-up 12-hour events in 1998 and 1999. Barry, with partner Jan Millar, offered to take the lead in organising the first one and requested three PAPO members to assist. The three people Stuart enlisted were also members of the tramping club, PAPO life member Rick Bolch, Richard Smith (later to become PAPO president) and Grant Hunter (who was to go on to organise subsequent Heights of Winter rogaines among others and also become secretary of the NZ Rogaining Association - NZRA). The inaugural Heights of Winter, based at Scargill in North Canterbury, was held on 27 June, 1998. 135 took part in 50 teams with the winners being the Queenstown duo of Bruce McLeod & Geoff Hunt.

Since then HoW has become the most popular annual rogaine in NZ. It has occurred every year since 1998 except for 2014 when lead-up weather conditions prevented it being held. The first four were organised by PAPO and when the NZRA was formed in 2002 they offered to run that year’s event. PAPO resumed in 2003 and since then the two organisations have alternated the event’s organisation.

In 2004, NZRA introduced a six-hour event to the programme; with an extra six controls for the six-hour. Since then the two events have had the same maps. That first year of the 6-hour there were 23 teams, only half that for the 12-hour (69). But by 2011 the 6-hour equalled the 12-hour for participation and has since gone on to be much the bigger event. On two occasions (up to and including 2016) the 12-hour has been shortened to 10-hours for differing reasons (2009 Orton Bradley & 2013 Woodbury). In 2013 a 2.5 hour event was also held using part of the main map with additional controls. In 2020 at Hakatere only the 6-hour category was held due to Covid-19 restrictions.